The Will to Protect
by ROARoftheLEO
Summary: Ferris Eris was almost at the brink of death because of Miron Froaude. Iris finds Ryner to help her unconscious big sister but they later realize that she is in a critical situation. Ryner begins to feel remorse and angst for not being able to help Ferris. *I have broken my hand so it will take me a while to update this fanfiction because it is difficult to type.*
1. Chapter 1

_Ryner's Epiphany_

"Beast!" Iris called out.

Keifer looked at Ryner with an incredulous expression. "Beast?"

Ryner strained his eyes to look at Iris through the low visibility caused by the rain.

As he did that, he could somewhat make out her face.

"... What is it?" Ryner muttered reflexively.

The Iris who was always energetic, and making trouble for him, now had a face contorting as if she was about to cry.

At that moment, Kiefer asked.

"... An acquaintance?"

Ryner nodded.

"The younger sister of my partner."

"... partner?"

"Yeah."

After giving an appropriate reply, he again looked at Iris. But, it was evident that there was something strange with how she was behaving.

Iris propped something up from the ground.

What was propped up had the same blond hair as her, a face of similar features as her, the face of a peerless beauty.

With long, blond hair that was completely drenched, fair skin, and a flawless face.

But those eyes on that face were shut. And the face looked pale as well.

Looking unconscious.

Or was it because...

She's dead?

"... Ferris!?"

Ryner's big, brown eyes widened with worry as he shouted and sprinted forward.

"Ah." Kiefer exclaimed in surprise but this was not the time to pay attention to that.

It was clear that something bad had happened.

Iris looked as she was about to cry.

And that monster-like, willful, bothersome, one who should possess the strength to become a mighty foe against any opponent, that Ferris was lying on the ground.

It was clearly an abnormal situation.

Ryner ran with all his might. Closing in towards the place where Ferris was lying, at an insane speed.

The nearer he got, the more evident it was that the situation was bad. Iris had dragged Ferris through the rain all the way up till here.

Both of them were drenched and covered in mud, looking pathetic.

As Ryner reached their side, he said.

"What in the world... what in the world has happened?" He looked at the flawless beauty just lying there with rain pouring down onto her pale face. "Ferris?!" Ryner called out.

Iris, while weeping, "Big, Big sister Ferris... Ferris was killed..."

"Wha!"

Instantly, Ryner's heart seemed to stop. _How could this be?! No she can't be. This is an illusion! It's got to be!_ Ryner looked at Ferris. His eyes began to sting with emotion.

_Killed?_

_Ferris?_

_Ferris was killed... then Ferris is already..._

"..."

Ryner placed a finger to her neck, and from that, even though Ferris felt cold from the rain, he could still sense a body temperature and a clear pulse.

Relieved at what he found, Ryner looked at Iris,

"She's alive, you know?"

As Iris was sobbing up her tears, she nodded a few times.

"She, she, she died but then came back to life."

To those words,

"Huh? She died but came back to life?"

"Un."

" What do you mean by that?"

As Ryner asked with a questioning look, Kiefer caught up to him.

"Ryner, you were so fast..."

But Ryner did not answer.

She then looked at the unconscious Ferris, where Ryner had placed a finger to her neck, and turned serious.

"... is she dead?"

Ryner shook his head.

"No, she still has a pulse."

"Her temperature?"

"A little cold, but there's no problem."

"But, if she continues to stay in this rain..."

"Ah, ah, you're right."

"Let's move her."

On saying that, Ryner slid his arms under Ferris and lifted her up bridal style. Her legs and back were covered in mud but he didn't care anymore.

"Yeah."

He acknowledged, and carried her head and body. Ferris' head rested on Ryner's chest. He could feel how cold she was and her body temperature was diminishing at a rapid rate.

_How could this have happened?_ He looked down at her lifeless body. _This was serious_. He needed to get her inside quickly. Ryner Keifer held onto Ferris' legs just to help Ryner out. And with that, they back-tracked from where they came from.

As they reached the edge of an eaves, Kiefer started knocking on the door of the local tea-house that they sat in when they were waiting for Ferris.

"Excuse me. There's someone injured, can you let us in?"

She called out.

Ryner could only act dumbfounded at Kiefer's sensibility.

In a way, he was fed up with himself for being useless. He had put Ferris in harm's way once again and this time, he could've lost her for good.

He was again stunned into inaction.

After seeing Iris cry, and hearing about Ferris being killed, he was very much stunned.

But there was really no time to be dawdling around.

Due to too many things happening just recently, he had almost forgotten that both he and Ferris were Roland's fugitives right now, and they were being pursued by the military.

It was possible that Ferris might have been done in by those pursuers. No, it's not a possibility; that had to be the case.

Those pursuers could just be nearby.

They were actually able to render Ferris to such a state. The pursuers this time might be tough opponents who were nothing like what they've seen till now. He tightened his grip around the blond just so he could mentally insure himself that she would be okay and he was here now to protect her from harm's way.

There was really no time to be dawdling around.

"Geez, get a hold of yourself."

Ryner said to himself and breathed out softly.


	2. Chapter 2

The Suffering

Ryner walked up the spiral stairs with Ferris in his hands. Her already pale head had become paler and her breathing had become quite shallow. The owner of the teahouse said they could take Ferris up to the second, private level of the teahouse. Upstairs, there was an unoccupied bedroom. It had one double bed with a chestnut colored chair in the corner of the room.

Once he gently placed Ferris down, he tucked her in with a blue, flower printed blanket which was folded by the side of the bed. He made sure that she was fully covered with the blanket before calling Keifer up. They needed to get Ferris out of her wet clothes. If they didn't do it soon, she may catch cold.

"Keifer, ask the teahouse guy for a pair of dry clothes."

"On it!" she replied running downstairs.

_You will live, Ferris. I won't let you die on me. It's my fault that you're like this._

Keifer came back a few minutes later with a long, white blouse. It was far too big for her but they had no choice. Ferris needed to change. Ryner looked at the blond and then back to Keifer.

"Keifer?"

"Yes?

"Could you step out of the room? I need to get Ferris into dry clothes now." he looked at the blond beauty just lying there. With every word that had escaped his mouth, Ryner felt a choking sensation in his stomach. It felt as if something was burning from the inside. He knew it was guilt and remorse that was bubbling inside of him.

"Huh?" Keifer responded looking at Ryner. She stared at him trying to register the words just said. Her face then turned bright red with embarrassment. "WAIT WHAT?! NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT! I will do it! You step outside!"

Dumbfounded, Ryner stared at her "Keifer, I understand that you're trying to be helpful in this situation but please, this is my burden alone."

Keifer's face reddened heavily. She never thought Ryner had become so low as to change an unconscious woman's clothes when there was another woman in the room to do that. _You are such a pervert! Oh my gosh. I never thought you had stooped this low!_ Almost exploding with rage she said "GET OUT PERVERT!"

Ryner stood there for a minute. _Pervert…? Wait no. Did she just? _He pointed at Ferris and then to himself, soon realizing what he had said and how awkward it had sounded.

"N-No! You've got it all wro-" he tried saying while shaking his head and hands to try and deny what the red head may have assumed.

Just before he could continue, Keifer picked up the chair and swung it at Ryner. He dodged it immediately and ran out of the room, closing the door behind him.

_Geez what a pervert! _She thought blushing so hard that her cheeks had almost turned the colour of her hair. Once she had calmed down, she glanced over at Ferris. She walked up to the bed and started taking off the blond beauty's clothing.

"Such heavy armor." She murmured under her breath. As she slowly took off the heavy purple clothing, she noticed Ferris' body was perfect in every way. Perfect bust size, beautiful hair, beautiful long eyelashes and a beautiful face that made her look like the next sleeping beauty. _So this is Ryner's partner huh? I'm so jealous! _As she continued changing her clothes, Keifer noticed a huge scar on Ferris's back.

"What's this?" she thought as she slowly placed her hand on the blond's back. The large scar on her flawless skin did not suit the sleeping Ferris at all. _Such a serious wound._ Keifer stared at it for a little bit before she continued changing Ferris into the long, white blouse.

_Her body temperature is still low but not as bad as it was before._ Once she was done helping Ferris, Keifer tucked her in once again with the large, soft blanket and made her way downstairs to the first level of the teahouse.

For the majority of the day, Ryner didn't say anything to Keifer. He just sat outside on the bench to watch the rain fall. It wasn't that he was lazy and tired, but because the rain had reminded him of the battle that they had with Kuu and Sui.

It was the first time Ferris had ever seen Ryner go berserk due to his Alpha Stigma. He remembered every single detail that occurred. From Sui using the Douleli Blade, to when they had afternoon tea after everything was over. He could still here Ferris's exact words repeating in his head: _Ryner, stop. You have to listen. You are not a monster. You are not a monster! _

He remembered how tightly Ferris had hugged and caressed him in the rain. She had blood going down the left side of her face but that didn't concern her. She just stayed by his side until he was able to stand on his own two feet once more.

Ryner got up off the cold bench and walked into the teahouse taking no concern in looking at Keifer or the teahouse owner. He walked slowly up the stairs and entered Ferris's room.

She was still unconscious and her blond hair just flowed around her. He pulled up the chair that Keifer threw earlier in the day and placed it beside the bed. He looked at Ferris. She was lying there like a lifeless corpse. The only thing that distinguished her living was her chest that would slightly rise and fall. He just stared at the blond for a hard couple of minutes.

"How could Sion do this? He's gone too far this time." Ryner said quietly while brushing Ferris' bangs and fixing her hair.

He stared at her once more, wondering when she would get up and hit him with her large sword; but she didn't. She just lay there on the bed with minuscule movement. "How much more of this can you take? Why don't you just give up on me? I've caused you so much pain... and yet... You still consider me a friend...you still want to be near me and..." A tear dripped from Ryner's face. "and…you refuse to call me a monster ."

Behind the door stood a crying Keifer. Her hands were cupping her mouth while her tears drizzled on top. Just as she heard Ryner getting up from the chair and heading towards the door, she quickly wiped her face with her sleeve.

"Ah, Ryner" She said quickly while walking into the room with a broad smile on her face.

"Yeah? Is there something wrong?" Ryner asked with his lethargic attitude.

"Oh, n-no it's been so long since we've talked like this so I thought we could just catch up maybe?" Keifer said without showing any eye contact to Ryner whatsoever. She didn't want him to see her puffy, teary eyes.

"No can do."

"W-what?! Why not?!" she wasn't expecting such a blunt reply. But then again, it had been so long since they last saw each other. _Well your attitude hasn't changed one bit._

"Yours truly needs a nap. I haven't slept a wink in 24 hours. Freaking Ferris kept me up all night with her pestering. I swear all she wants in life is to torture me." Ryner said with a loud yawn.

"OH C'MON! How about you tell me more about Ferris then? I've never seen her other than that one time I blew up the bridge by the Roland jails."

"UGHH fine. But this is just because we haven't seen each other in so long." Ryner said.

They sat down on the carpeted ground. Ryner was leaning against the bed while the red headed Keifer sat down right in front of him.

**I am so sorry that I haven't been able to update and continue! I was just so busy with exams and I had so much work! FORGIVE ME! I promise I will try and do a better job! Please don't give up on me! As I said before, please give me any feedback because this is my first time writing a fanfiction J If it sucks, let me know. If you enjoyed it and want more, let me know. If I'm lacking something like emotions/detail etc. please let me know because we all know that I'm a terrible writer and I need feedback. If you have any questions, please leave them in the review box and I will try my best to answer them J THANKS EVERYONE! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Memories of The Flawless Beauty**

"Ferris is... She's a pain in the ass with a craze for dango that is worth more than her very life. An insane lady with brute strength. Happy now?" Ryner stared at Keifer and yawned loudly.

"No! C'mon don't be so dull." She said blowing up her cheeks with air.

"What more do you want to know?" He asked with his eye lids shutting.

"For starters, how long have you known each other?" _Yes! Perfect question! Now I can find out__more about their romantic notions for each other! _

"I don't know. Probably for a long time." Ryner yawned once more.

"She's really pretty. I'm surprised a girl like her can handle a sword."

"Don't let her pretty face fool you. She's not what you think you've led yourself to believe!" Ryner explained. "She's really the devil in disguise! I'm going to die by her hands one day with that damned brute strength and blasted sword."

Keifer just looked at Ryner. She didn't pay attention to anything he had just said. She just stared at him, gazing into his large, brown eyes. _He never talked to me with such expression before... I__don't think he's aware that he's fallen for Ferris. The way his eyes look at hers, the way he ran to__her when she was found unconscious. The way he cried for her... He really is torturing me. I'M SO JEALOUS! _

"Um Keifer? Are you listening? I'm getting creeped out with you staring at me..."

"That mark..."

"Huh?"

"That long mark going down Ferris's back. How did it get there?"

This brought Ryner up immediately. He looked at Ferris and then to Keifer. He knew Ferris wouldn't want Keifer to know about that. It would destroy her honor as a warrior. The mark was from that time they both fought Miron Froaude when they were watching over Sion and Toale Nelphi. That mark on Ferris's back was the only thing that had brought them closer. She was so enclosed to herself that she wouldn't let anyone close to her. Her guard would always be up but, when he held Ferris that day, Ryner could see how helpless she truly was. When he took her inside to heal her back, the bleeding wouldn't stop for quite some time even with his healing magic. Just her being able to move was proof enough that she was a strong and skilled warrior.

"Ryner?" Keifer asked.

"Huh? Oh sorry. I was just thinking about how… Uh… It got there. From our travels, I don't recall Ferris getting hurt on her back. Is it bad?" he asked trying to act worried.

"Yeah. It looks recent though; like a blade or something that may have slashed or cut her back. It looked like magic was used to heal the wound but it's darkened a little…" Keifer pondered aloud.

_Keifer__is good with sensing magic. I just hope she isn't able to detect that I was the one who__healed Ferris's wound. The last thing I need is to teach someone..._

"Beast! Beast! H-how is big sister Ferris doing?!"

Ryner looked at the bedroom doorway and found a crying Iris just standing there. Her small hands held the doorknob as she tried to ask Ryner without crying. With no reply coming out of his mouth, she slowly turned her head towards the bed. Her once cheerful face was now covered in tears drizzling down as she stared at her big sister just lying there in bed. Ryner wanted to tell her that Ferris was going to be just fine. He wanted to tell her that she was just resting, but he knew that he would be lying. He had no right to lie to Ferris's younger sister. The younger sister of his partner. The younger sister of his friend. Instead, he just walked up to Iris and placed his hand on Iris's blond haired head.

"Now that I'm here, I'll take care of your big sister, so don't cry." He said softly to the petite blond.

"Y-you promise?" Iris asked raising her head while her face was still wet with tears.

"Yeah."

Surprisingly, Iris clasped onto Ryner and continued her crying for a little bit. Ryner didn't say anything as he was still shocked to see Iris holding onto him. She would usually never even come near him, let alone touch him. With Ferris's influences on her of him being a pervert, he was very much astounded to see Iris so close to him.

"Hey Iris?" Keifer asked interrupting the quietness of the room and getting up from the place where she was once sitting. "Would you like to come downstairs with me and get something to eat?" she offered her hand to Iris.

Iris stared at the red headed girl's hand. She didn't know what to say as she had never seen her before in her life. Iris looked at her hand and then to Keifer's face. It had a small smile on it. To this, she slowly let go of Ryner and transitioned herself so that she softly held Keifer's hand.

"Y-yes. Could I have some d-dango?" she replied slowly wiping her teary face.

"Of course you can." She replied happily.

Just as the two girls were about to leave the room, Iris turned around.

"Beast?"

"Hmmm?" Ryner replied.

"Don't tell big sister Ferris that I was crying, okay? I hope she doesn't find out that I lost my virtue after touching you." Iris said looking down.

"Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me. Now go with Keifer so you can fill that hungry stomach of yours." He smirked

To this, the petite blond smiled.

"Okay!" she said looking up. Her face beamed once more with a happy expression.

"Do you want to join us, Ryner?" Keifer asked.

"You go. I'm not very hungry." He said turning his head away to face the two girls.

"Alright…" she said closing the door on her way out.

As the door behind them closed, Ryner sat by Ferris once more on the chair. He gazed at her with his big, brown eyes. Her face held a somewhat saddened expression on her face. It was similar to the time when Ryner had left Roland with Tiir, and Ferris had come to bring him back. They had met a new foe as well on that day.

.

..

…

….

…..

….

…

.

"Damn it Ferris! What the hell is wrong with you running out in the middle of-" Ryner tried to yell when he saw Ferris get in front of his attack and block off Lirr's monsters.

"What is wrong with you?!" Ferris yelled back." Idiot! If you're really so obsessed with dying alone...just do it..." To this, Ferris lowered her head towards the ground and then back to Lirr. "If seeing yourself as a monster triumphs seeing yourself as my friend, then just vanish and be done with it. If you refuse to see yourself as my valet, my tea drinking companion or my ally, I cannot convince you otherwise. But, don't expect me to share in that opinion. I will not see you as a monster. And there is nothing you can do to convince me otherwise. You can deny how lonely you are but it's obvious to me that you're miserable. And I will never think of you as you think of yourself." She said strongly. Ryner could feel her mentally trying to reach out to him. He just looked at Ferris. He just stood there speechless. The silent moment was interrupted when Lirr started to speak.

" Wow. Impressive little pep talk you just improvised. Hell, if this were a fairy-tale, I'd buy it. The brave damsel holding out hope that beneath the fearsome beast lurks the heart of a human being? Not in the real world, sweetheart. Monsters like this guy will always be monsters"

"What does that matter to me? Monster or not, there is no reason I should care. He's my friend first." Ferris claimed without hesitation.

"That's a very sentimental view but whether you care isn't the issue. There's a whole world out there whose very existence is threatened with every minute freaks like your friend draw breath. For the greater good he has to be put down like a rabbit dog." Lirr countered.

"Is that supposed to impress me?" To this, Ferris gripped her sword tightly.

Ryner just stared at Ferris. He was still trying to register what Ferris had just said. _She really doesn't care what I am, does she? How can she still have so much faith in a lost cause like me? Does our friendship really mean more to her than her very life being threatened by me? _Tears started to roll down Ryner's face. He began to feel like a large weight was descending from his chest after so long. _"_You don't care? You really don't care. You just want to know... you, you just... Ferris, is it... really okay for me to live?"

Ferris turned her head around with a small, saddened smile. She just looked at him with her blue eyes. It looked as if she wanted to cry. Her voice filled with emotion said "Idiot. Without you around, what do you think I would do?" That was when Ryner had realized that all Ferris wanted and needed, was a friend. She was willing to go to extreme lengths just to get back the only one she had, even if it meant travelling the entire countryside looking for him. Because of her, he was able to realize that his life had a meaning. There was a reason for him to continue to exist in this world.

_Ferris was his meaning. _


End file.
